


It Looks Like You Might Be One of Us

by DarkShadowPrincess



Series: School Made Me Do It [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Chemical Outbreak, Inspired by Heathens by Twenty One Pilots, Not Beta Read, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:58:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9685796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShadowPrincess/pseuds/DarkShadowPrincess
Summary: A chemical outbreak on land has a massive impact on the merpeople society below.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This has not been edited. I made some changes as this was for a English assignment, but no one else has looked it over. All mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Title is from "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots as well as the name of one of the mermaid species.

The world descended into complete and utter chaos when there was a massive worldwide chemical outbreak.  This chemical, still unknown, stripped the flesh off any being that had flesh to give and soon society was nearly extinct. The humans who endured it were in the most agonizing pain they've ever experienced for only minutes before their bodies would collapse from the pain. This outbreak was the worst thing humans had ever faced before and it happened by pure accident. It wasn't an enemy attack, it was two chemicals being mixed together after being spilled and the vapors they produced is what had the affect. Those vapors latched onto the oxygen atoms in the air and just breathing in the air contaminated you. Some humans were able to live longer than others and those humans found what they thought of as a suitable solution. The humans who were still alive, though just barely, expelled the chemical into the ocean and soon the marine life that lived there became living skeletons. Those humans were the last to live. Earth became a wasteland. Nothing survived; humans, animals, and plants all died. No survivors were left to tell the tale.

One species did survive though and they were extremely aggravated at the loss of their otherworldly beauty. That species was merkind. The merpeople lost their luscious, shimmering locks and their pale, smooth skin. The tails they so prided for their magnificent hues were eaten off by this unknown chemical, the scales and flesh being ripped away like a knife through soft butter. Soon the merpeople, still alive, were just skeletons. These mermaids became known as the Heathens because of their newly acquired petulant attitude and their random outbursts of shrieks and curses towards the humans who made them be this skeleton they are now.

Now the Heathens were the impulsive and more cunning of the merpeople left, the other ones will be introduced soon, so the devious plan they came up with is really no surprise. I mean, they are not called Heathens for nothing. 

Now there is another type of mermaid who rule the waters of the ocean, even though there are not many of these mermaids left. They are the Pristines. They're the epitome of a gorgeous mermaid, they are what the Heathens used to be. Shimmery locks, pale skin, iridescent scaled tails and all. The Pristines managed to stay so beautiful because they excised themselves out of the oceanic mermaid society by hiding away in the Trident's Castle. Now you might be thinking, "It's still underwater, how are they not Heathens?" Well they built one enormous airtight container around the Castle to keep the saltwater preserved and pure. This made the Pristines feel invincible, they were still as gorgeous as ever while the Heathens were nothing more than swimming skeletons. A nightmare to behold. The Pristines let this feeling consume them and took to mocking the Heathens that had the misfortune to swim by Trident's Castle as the Pristines were out. This behavior would soon lead the Heathens to become vengeful and plan the best way to infringe into Trident's Castle and start planning what would be called the Changing. 

The Pristines had arrogantly put all the airtight containers secrets into a tome with concise instructions on how to deactivate it for when the water has been purified. They had left it in plain sight, just outside the airtight seal as though it hadn't stretched that far, and a Heathen found it. This Heathen rushed excitedly back to the underwater village they lived in and gave the good news. Soon a flurry of ideas were thrown around on how to extract the perfect revenge on the arrogant Pristines when a young Heathen piped up, "Why don't we just take their beauty away from them?" Twisted grins were seen on the surrounding Heathens faces and soon the entire village was in agreement. That little Heathen became the mastermind of this operation. 

The Heathens felt they had all the motive in the world to justify the extraction of the Pristines beauty as they had all been so mercilessly been mocked by the ones who selfishly kept their beauty. The Heathens had all been for centuries and the Pristines never once tried to help the Heathens return their former glory. It was time to take revenge. 

So that's what they did. The nightmarish Heathens all gathered around the Pristines sanctuary and let themselves be mocked, it only helped fuel their centuries old hate of the Pristines. The Pristines fell right into the Heathens trap and by the time they deduced that something wasn't right, it was already much too late. The Heathens that had been in charge of the breaking and removal of the seal had completed their task and were just waiting for the orders to lift it when the Pristines haughty smirks were ripped off by the cold realization that they were about to become the living nightmares they had mocked for centuries. 

As soon as the container started lifting the Pristines shocked faces became ones of pure agony as the chemical reached them. The Heathens took advantage of the distractions as the dragged the withering bodies of the Pristines from their now infected home into the open ocean to get the full blast of the effects. The Pristines turned Heathens were utterly appalled by their newfound appearances and begged the Heathens to help somehow. The Heathens mocked them just as viciously, if not more than the new Heathens had to them. One little Heathen, the mastermind of the operation, turned to the newly turned Heathen they had dragged out of the Trident's Castle and uttered the words that have haunted the Heathens since. _"It looks like you might be one of us."_


End file.
